Ultimate Courage

by Piper J. Drake

  A man cleared his throat on the other end of the line. “Got a hit on Elisa Hall, sir.”

  Finally. It’d been days since he’d last had a confirmed report on her whereabouts.

  “Is the item of interest accessible?” Conscious of Mary still within earshot, he kept his choice of words ambiguous.

  Locating and reacquiring Elisa was becoming critical to his business interests. He’d given her time to run, but he was done waiting for her to come back to him on her own. And she should have. She would understand that once she was back under his supervision.

  “No. I mean, not currently. Sir.” The man didn’t have the quality of his usual employees but Joseph had hired him more for intimidation than for professional polish.

  “Explain.” Joseph allowed his impatience to come through in his tone.

  “I tracked her to a hospital in Pennsylvania.”

  “Is there damage?” Joseph stood and began to pace. She shouldn’t have been injured. He needed to know if it was permanent, if there’d be scarring of some sort. The nature of her injury was important.

  “Don’t think so.” The man coughed. “I can send you the name of the hospital, but it looks like she went into the ER and left the same night. She wasn’t admitted. I found her car in a nearby town parked in a shopping center.”

  Joseph stopped pacing. It couldn’t be serious if she hadn’t been admitted. Good.

  “I’m watching her car now. It’s only a matter of time before I have eyes on her,” his employee continued.

  “We’ll want to have a means to track the shipping container.” Hopefully unnecessary, but his Elisa was perceptive. She might run again, and there was no time to waste searching for her further. “Then keep an eye on the item for me. If you have the opportunity, collect it and hold it for me. I’ll pick it up personally.”

  “Understood.” There was a pause. “Should I still send you the hospital details along with the location of the car?”

  “Send all of the information to my phone.” Joseph ended the call and turned toward the kitchen where Mary stood, peering around the doorjamb. “It seems I have to leave now.”

  “So soon?” Mary stepped back into the living room. “It must be hard, your work. Always so busy.”

  “Yes.” He didn’t deny it. His work was a priority, and so was retrieving what was his. “I’ll have a word with Elisa the next time I speak with her and make sure she knows to give you a call.”

  Chapter Eight

  Okay. Sleep had been good. Better than good. Elisa felt rested for the first time in a while. But no epiphanies had come to her in the middle of the night. She still wasn’t sure what her next step should be.

  So here she was standing in front of a donut shop a few doors down from Revolution MMA. Gary had been in the office, but on the phone when she’d come downstairs. He’d given her a wave as she pushed out the front door, and it’d felt awkward, but she’d returned it with a smile. He and Greg were genuinely nice people, and she hated just slipping out the front door without even a thank you.

  She took a careful sip of hot coffee with enough sugar in it to complement her freshly baked donut and figured being unpredictable was a good thing. So she wasn’t going to give herself a hard time for not having decided what to do yet. Instead, she was going to enjoy her breakfast and the morning—just as they were right now.

  The air had a cold bite to it, and she wrapped the fingers of one hand more securely around her cup to ward off the chill, relying on the wrist brace to keep her palm from getting burned. She made quick work of her donut, then held the cup carefully with both hands to nurse the warmth as much as the caffeine. This was autumn on the East Coast, and already colder than it got back in California.

  A few thoughts crystalized with the clarity of caffeine. Apple cider donuts were amazing. Maybe she’d try following up with hot apple cider next time, but coffee had definitely been the right choice this morning. And she definitely liked the contrast of seasons here.

  That established, her next choice could only be great, right?

  She sighed. Maybe. It was still early.

  Then she caught sight of a random guy in a hoodie and sweatpants leaning against the wall. Just…there. No coffee or paper in hand or any reason to be where he was. The store he was next to wasn’t open yet. He could be waiting for it, but somehow she doubted he was dying to get into a beauty supply shop. Nope. Everything about him was creepy, especially with the hood pulled up over his head.

  She took another sip of her coffee and willed her hands not to shake. Looking out over the parking lot, she saw that only a few cars dotted the blacktop. Because it was still early. People were arriving to open up the bigger stores, but there weren’t many shoppers yet. Her car was parked where she’d left it, all the way on the other end of the shopping strip past the school because she’d wanted to leave it under a streetlight.

  She risked a glance back over at the creepy guy. He was looking directly at her.

  The martial arts school, and Gary and Greg, were closer.

  Swallowing hard, she started walking toward Revolution MMA. The cold air burned as she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, trying not to betray how utterly freaked out she was.

  Turning her head slightly, she saw the man push away from the wall and step in her direction.

  Oh no.

  She picked up her pace, suddenly regretting having left the school at all.

  As she passed the next store she could see only his feet in the reflection from the storefront glass because of the decals on the windows. But he was following and closing the distance.

  Keep walking. Keep moving. Almost there.

  The next storefront had broad, clean windows. She caught sight of him in the reflection as he took his hands out of his pockets and lengthened his stride.

  He was almost on her.

  She dropped her coffee and bolted for the front of Revolution MMA, yanking the door open and blundering straight into another man.

  Elisa screamed.

  “Hey!” The voice was low, urgent, and familiar. “Hey, Elisa. It’s okay. Come inside. You’re safe.”

  The terse words cut through her blind terror. Her heart was going to pound a hole in her chest, but strong hands steadied her and released her. Alex gave her space and stepped over to the front door, shielding her from whomever was out there.

  Gary and Greg were suddenly at her side, too, flanking her.

  These people were here, ready to help, making sure she was safe. They’d dropped everything. She wrapped her arms across her chest, trying to pull herself together, literally.

  Then Alex barked out an angry curse. “Cannon! What the fuck?”

  Cannon? So they knew him? Elisa leaned to one side to peer around Alex, abruptly conscious again of how imposing the man was. It was a weird kind of comfort to have him standing between her and the rest of the world. The man she’d seen earlier was standing a few feet from the door with his hands held out to his sides and spread wide. A sheepish grin split his unshaven face.

  “Sorry, man!” Cannon called to them. “I was just hanging out waiting for her to come out of the donut place.”

  Gary and Greg instantly relaxed. Gary muttered a quieter curse of his own. “I sent Cannon to keep an eye out for Elisa since I was on the phone. He came in to pick up some gear he left last night and I figured it couldn’t hurt to keep a pair of eyes on her. I didn’t think he’d be a thug about it.”

  * * *

  Elisa still considered hopping in her car and driving until she ran out of gas a valid option. Even as she stepped into the reception area of Hope’s Crossing Kennels at eight a.m., sharp.

  She hated herself for it.

  Of course, Alex had driven her here to the kennels since she’d been a complete mess after freaking them all out this morning. So she’d have to ask for a ride back in order to make her escape. Not exactly practical. And she still wasn’t sure it was what she wanted to do.

 
She was off balance, shaken, and embarrassed.

  Indecision hadn’t been one of her shortcomings once upon a time. She’d always prided herself on being able to consider all the options she might have and making the best decision possible. She’d been a detailed, thorough person with enough intuition to make the mental leap to fill in gaps when there might not be sufficient information. Once she’d committed to a course of action, she’d never had regrets.

  That was before she’d gotten involved with Joseph.

  Elisa stopped in her tracks. Joseph Corbin, Jr. Even internally, she hadn’t let herself say his name since she’d first left. She didn’t want to give him space inside her head—not him and not the shady business he’d had planned. Instead of the anticipated dread—speaking of the devil and all—she experienced a tiny spike of elation. Triumph. She could finally think of him without having his name terrify her.

  Looking around the reception area with its hardwood benches and flooring, deep blue walls, and naturally homey feel, the twisting in her gut eased. She’d agreed to let Alex drive her here because this was the last place she’d felt calm and capable. It’d given her back a measure of pride. She’d done work efficiently and set up processes, however small, to make things better than they had been when she’d arrived.

  It was a far cry from the corporate offices and conference rooms she’d worked in as a project manager and so much more personable than the sterile walls of Joseph’s house. There were good people here, ready to lend a hand or jump to her defense, and this morning Alex had proven it. What’s more, he’d asked her right afterward what she wanted to do next.

  So she made a decision. She’d stay and give this a try.

  Because something about this place and these people was different. Or maybe enough time had passed. Or maybe it was because she’d gotten her first chance at an interesting job and her first good night’s sleep. Could be any number of things, but they all added up to her coming back here to see what else might change. For the better.

  “Welcome back.” Alex entered from the hallway leading back to the kennel run.

  Her heart jumped up into her throat, and she resisted the urge to beam happily at him like an idiot. “You drove me here.”

  He shrugged. “Still seems like a good thing to say.”

  He, in particular, was different in all sorts of good ways. The undemanding, accepting, not-too-many-questions kind of ways. A big part of what had convinced her to give this a try was the way he hadn’t acted entitled to know everything about her in exchange for his generosity.

  He’d changed out of the sweatshirt he’d worn earlier and stood in the doorway dressed in jeans and a light, short-sleeved button-up shirt. Hope’s Crossing Kennels was embroidered in a circle over the breast pocket around the silhouette of a dog. After having met Souze last evening, she sort of thought it was probably a German shepherd.

  German Shepherd Dog, she mentally corrected herself.

  Whether she was going to stay or not, she wanted to remember to refer to the kind of dog by the proper breed name. It was important to her to have details correct.

  Abruptly, she remembered he wasn’t a mind reader and would have no idea what she was so happy about. No need for her to get all excited at the sound of his voice, either. Even if he spoke with a rough sort of morning growl, the kind that sent tingles through her at the sound of it.

  Brandon and Alex were her employers, and she needed to consider both of them with a certain level of professionalism. He was right; this was a good place to start the day over.

  “Good morning.” She plastered a polite smile on her face as she met Alex’s gaze.

  He gave her a friendly smile as he stepped forward to offer her his hand. “Glad you’ve decided to give us a chance, Elisa.”

  He had it backward. They were the ones giving her the chance. It was more than a job, more of a new beginning. But she didn’t want to come across too cheesy. Instead, she went with another truth. “Yesterday’s work was interesting. I thought today might bring some good surprises.”

  Alex raised an eyebrow, humor twinkling in his eyes. “Well, we do have a tendency to experience the unexpected around here.”

  She blinked. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  He shrugged. “Do all things have to be classified as good or bad?”

  Now there was a question. “Generally, things do fall under one or the other.”

  “True, but then again, whether something is one or the other tends to depend on point of view.” Alex headed over to the desk and placed a fresh pack of pens on it. “I find I experience fewer nasty surprises if I just leave off on the opinion altogether.”

  “Nasty?” She took a few steps toward the desk. It was ridiculous how glad she was to see an entire pack of matching pens. Then she paused again. They were purple.

  Alex gave her a toothy grin, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve done some traveling. What one individual or group might think is a good thing can be received as downright evil by another. It can result in some…unpleasant reactions.”

  “Ah.” She considered him for a minute. Both he and Brandon were very fit. Yesterday, she’d accepted it as part of running kennels and training dogs. It was a fairly active profession, requiring them to be on their feet most of the day. Plus, Alex trained at Revolution Mixed Martial Arts Academy. There’d already been fighters getting in their early morning training when she’d left, and they had some impressive conditioning as far as she could tell. But it occurred to her that maybe Alex and Brandon were in excellent condition for other reasons.

  Former police, maybe. Or ex-military. Maybe even reserves. They were in shape enough to still be involved in something requiring a uniform. Her mind did her the favor of conjuring up mental images of Alex in a succession of uniforms. Yum.

  “Oh.” Alex rolled his shoulders in what seemed like a self-conscious move. “What do you think of the shirt?”

  Whoops. She must’ve been staring while her mind wandered. Damn. He was going to think she was weird. “It’s nice. I hadn’t realized there was a…uniform.”

  Must delete mental images.

  Or at least tuck them away for some other time.

  “There isn’t. Yet,” Alex responded with wry grin. “Sophie brought a few of these over this morning. It’s one of her ideas to make us look more businesslike or something.”

  “Whoever Sophie is, she has a good point.” Elisa bit her lip. Might have been better to keep her opinion to herself.

  “You think?” Alex didn’t seem irritated. The opposite, actually. “It’s not as comfortable as polo shirts, but I guess I could work in it. Sophie says these are washable and stain resistant. She keeps our books for us and ambushes us with new ideas for the business.”

  The button-up and collar put a polish on Alex, taking him a step away from muscular and ruggedly attractive to downright handsome. The light fabric contrasted with his darker skin tone, providing an accent against the bronze of his arms. The cut of the shirt and short sleeves complemented his broad shoulders and muscular arms. Close-fitting T-shirts suited him, too, based on what she’d seen yesterday and the other night at the ER, but she liked this look in a safer, sort of easygoing way. Tees were more casual but made him look ready for action. This look made him look ready to settle in for a day of work.

  “It’s more professional.” She struggled to sum up what she thought without coming across as creepy. No need to let him know how much she wanted to see what he looked like in a suit now. “And uniform shirts make it easy to immediately differentiate the trainer from the rest of the class.”

  He jerked his head in a quick affirmative. “See, I can get behind a practical reason like that. Just wearing a uniform for a uniform’s sake didn’t make sense to me.”

  Pleased by his compliment—being considered practical was a good thing in her mind—she reached for something else to say to fill the conversational lull. “Just before we left, Greg asked me to remind you it’
s your turn for parents’ night.”

  Alex scowled and dragged his hand through his hair.

  “Not a good thing, I take it?” She really didn’t like to be the bearer of bad news.

  “No, no.” Alex waved away her concern. “All of the instructors and some of the regulars take turns to supervise. I just lost track so it snuck up on me. Besides, Boom loves it when I’m in charge of parents’ night at Revolution.”

  “You’ve been doing a lot of favors on my behalf,” she said slowly. “Could I help, then?”

  See? She could find a way to repay every one of them for the favors. Not just because they were kind but because she didn’t want to owe anyone anything.

  She’d learned the hard way how things could add up and trap a person when they least expected it.

  Alex was studying her. “Let’s get you settled in to work for the day and we’ll talk next steps this afternoon. I’ll try to think of a couple of extra things we’ve been meaning to do around here but haven’t had the chance to get to. If you could do a few of those, we could call it even.”

  No anger, not even the stillness she was starting to associate with him controlling his temper. He’d taken what she’d said into consideration. The novelty of it triggered a slow swell of happiness in her chest, and she breathed in deeply, then smiled. “Okay, but I still want to know more about this night at Revolution MMA.”

  * * *

  The morning classes were significantly less chaotic than those of the prior day. Rojas was glad they’d moved the obedience training to the weekdays and saved Saturday mornings for more specialized classes. There tended to be a lot fewer single women with newly acquired dogs or borrowed friends’ dogs and more people who genuinely wanted to work with their companions.

  Standing in the center of the agility course in his spiffy new shirt, he saw Elisa peeking out the window of the front office and gave her a wave.

  Sean Cannon stepped to his side, careful to give him plenty of space and time to see him. Rojas appreciated the courtesy, though the caution wasn’t as needed on kennel property where he felt at ease. Cannon’s pug, on the other hand, rubbed against the side of Alex’s leg in greeting and sat on his shoe.